Elfen Lied: Heart Within the Sword
by Sushiboy411
Summary: The life she had before was nothing more then a fleeting dream. Now awakened, she now face a new reality and a new future...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: down own bleach and elfen lied

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Elfen Lied: Heart within the Sword

Chapter 1: Awakening

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_'Awaken.'_

"_Who is that? Where am I?" Nyu said as she stood in a barren field, nothing was around her but a looming black of rotting trees and withered shrubs._

_'I am Xaphon... remember that for I shall aid you.'_

"_Aid me? Just who are you? Show yourself!" Nyu exclaimed, then a rush of heat erupted around her as all over she can see the growing flames surrounding her. It was hot, and she was scared, she didn't know what was going on. _

_The flames then evaporated and what stood in front of her was a red dragon, its massive wings and claws were already impressive enough, but Nyu couldn't believe her eyes, that she was standing face to face with a real dragon._

_'Little one, I am Xaphon' the dragon spoke, but she noticed the voice was coming from her mind, and the dragon was not speaking at all. As though reading her mind, it replied, 'do not worry, I am speaking to you telepathically.'_

"_But.. where am I? Why am I here?" Nyu questioned, the dragon just looked at her and chuckled._

_'you will find out soon, but for now, remember my name and awaken!' with that, the dragon soon enshrouded himself with flames and disappeared and slowly Nyu's vision soon became a total blur._

* * *

"Big brother! Big brother! Look! She is finally waking up!" a voice said startling Nyu from her slumber, slowly opening her eyes she was greeted by an unfamiliar face.

"Nyu!" She exclaimed as she jumped back a few feet, she stared straight into the crimson eyes of a girl who now was staring intently back at her. Then suddenly shaking her violet hair, the girl realized she had just startled Nyu.

"OH! I'm so sorry! Did I scare you? Please allow me to introduce myself! I'm Kreme! May I also ask what is your name miss?."

"Umm, my name's Nyu, nice to meet you Kreme." Nyu shyly replied.

_'Where am I? How can I still be alive... Kohta had shot and killed me, didn't he...?_ The last thing Nyu could remember, was Kohta aiming the gun at her slowly decaying body and pulling the trigger. After that, everything was black till now.

"Sorry about my sister," Said a voice as it approached Nyu and Kreme. The person that appeared out of the shadow was a boy around her age with navy blue hair and a very muscular build, "She is always like this when it comes to meeting new people that has just arrived to Soul Society."

"Soul... Society? What is that?" Nyu asked.

"It is where all souls go to after their death!" Kreme exclaimed.

"Thats nothing you should be proud of Kreme," Said the blue haired boy, making Kreme frown, "sorry but I was never able to introduce myself properly, my name is Bollet, it is a pleasure to meet you Nyu."

Nyu blushed as Bollet extended his hand out for a formal handshake, however Kreme interrupted them, "Shut up Bollet, stop flirting with every girl you meet!"

"N-no I'm not!" Bollet said trying to defend himself. The two then started argueing which left Nyu to contemplate by herself.

_'so I'm dead now.. I guess it isn't as bad as I expected.. but.. I do wish I could still be alive..'_ Nyu thought to herself, however she did not notice Bollet and Kreme suddenly focusing onto her. When she looked up she had noticed they both had been staring at her which startled Nyu.

"Sorry again Nyu!" Kreme said cheerfully, "But my brother and I had decided that since it is your first day here, we will take you around! That way you can get acquainted with this place since we'll be living her together!"

Nyu just stared at her for a second trying to contemplate to herself if she should or should not, but before she could answer Kreme had already grabbed her hand and ran straight out of the door, while Bollet just followed them off from behind.

* * *

"Finally! Staying in Seireitei all the time was really tiring!" exclaimed the young lieutenant of the 11th squad, Yachiru Kusajishi. For a while now she had been stuck in Seireitei, which was the base for all soul reapers who were not on duty in soul society. Tired of doing nothing, she had decided to sneak out to play for a while, by begging her captain, Zaraki Kenpachi to let her go. It took her a good few months till he finally allowed her to leave, which made her very happy.

"I know~ Yachi – san, it has been a while since I have been out here. Boy do I sure miss this place!" Said another girl who seemed to be around the same age as Yachiru, however the only thing that was different about her was the two horns that pertruded out of her head, it was Mariko Kurama, "I wonder how long has it been since I joined the Gotei 13..."

"Mari – chan... you have barely been with us for almost a year now!" Yachiru exclaimed, "But I'm glad you were able to join our division, I was getting tired of being the only short one there, not to mention girl too."

Mariko smiled at the thought, she remembered when she first came here a voice called out to her.. telling her to awaken, at first she didn't know what it was until the day she tried to enter Seireitei, that was how she met Yachiru. She had challenged her to a fight, and Mariko had accepted, at first she thought she could win with just her vectors until she realized Yachiru can see them as well as anyone else in soul society and that they were almost useless here due to the level of Reiatsu the people of soul society contained. That was when the voice once again called to her, and almost in an instant she felt a ray of light enshrouded around her and then she found herself cloaked in a black kimono and a sword by her side. So then, that day Yachiru took her in along with Kenpachi, she was then forced to go to a Shinigami school where she learned how to become one. She only stayed there for a few months due to her fast growth, during that time she had already learned the name and Shikai of her sword. Her quick growth had impress everyone and she was proud of that.

"Hey, Mari – chan look, " Yachiru suddenly said, which interrupted Mariko's train of thoughts, "look, there is another girl just like you. She has horns coming out of her head too!" She then pointed toward the direction, and Mariko's eyes widened with shock. It was Lucy.

* * *

Nyu's head was already having a hard time processing all the information Kreme and Bollet had been telling her about soul society. Basically it has two sections, one of the section is called Rukongai which is where Nyu and the others are right now, while the other section was Seireitei, where all the Shinigami's reside. The Shinigami's were an interesting aspect to this soul society in Nyu's opinion, they were the ones that help depart the souls of the dead here, which brought up another thought, were they the one that brought all those she has killed here as well? The thought suddenly saddened her, she had never intended to kill, but because of her instinct, that instinct to kill she had done things unimaginable.

However, the rest of the trip was fun, she was able to meet a bunch of new people and to her suprise they all had accepted her for who she was, a horned human. She was able to get acquanted with Kreme and Bollet as well. It seems Kreme was about 13 when she had passed away from an illness that swept into her family, she was the only one who had died by it for her immune system was weak. Bollet on the other hand, was actually in the Japanese military and was killed in action about ten years ago. Nyu found their story very interesting, but what confused her was why they still looked so young. If what Kreme said was true, her death was almost 15 years ago, and she still looked like a 13 year old when she should actually be about 28.

"That is because here in Soul Society, we age differently then in the real world, the time span here is much longer and we don't age as fast because of the enormous amount of energy around us. Think of it as a little fountain of youth that exist within the air here in Soul Society." Bollet explained.

Nyu concentrated deeply to understand exactly what he had said, but to no avail, she then decided to quit because it definitely won't work. So they then continued on walking until a voice yelled out toward Nyu.

"LUCY!!!" A voice roared, which caught the attention of the trio, looking up to see who it was, Nyu was greeted by a vector charging toward her and hitting her in the face. She flew a few feet until she finally stopped,, looking up to see who could her attacker be, she was greeted by the small form of Mariko, but this time she was dressed in a black kimono, like every other Shinigami's from what Bollet has told her.

Nyu's eyes widened in shock, _'is.. Mariko a Shinigami?' _her question was never voiced when Mariko once again sent another one of her vectors at Nyu, this time however she was able to dodge out of the way.

"MARIKO! STOP! I DON'T WANT TO FIGHT YOU!" Nyu yelled, but to no avail, Mariko didn't care, she was filled with anger to even think of stopping.

"Nyu! Are you ok?" Kreme yelled out, but was to scared to even interfere with the two. So she stood there watching helplessly as Nyu dodged all of Mariko's attack.

Bollet on the other hand didn't hesitate to come into the fight to defend Nyu, as a vector charged in toward Nyu, Bollet had gotten in the way and using his strength, he was somehow able to catch the vector before it came into contact, but then another came at him and smacked him away from Mariko's view. Once again, Nyu was on her own, and she didn't know what to do, _'what should I do... I don't want to fight...' _

_'Say my name...' _A voice suddenly said inside Nyu, _'if you want to live say my name!'_

Nyu new she could not win against Mariko if she is truly a Shinigami now, from what Bollet had said, they are very powerful, especially if they have already acquired their Shikai or Bankai's which are released form of their sword, so she new she had no choice but to call upon the name of that voice... She then looked at Mariko with new determination.

"Awaken..." Nyu began, which caught the attention of everyone around her, "Awaken! XAPHON!!!" She then extended out her arm as a wave of fire surrounded her entirely, everyone stared at her with disbelief and amazement as the flames continued to circle her. Finally as it disappeared from view, the Nyu that was standing there was totally different, she was now dressed in a black kimono and not only that but she held a crimson red double sided blade. At the center was the handle which had an engraving of a dragon head, and extending to each end of the blade were flames imprinted on the sword.

Nyu looked at herself in disbelief, "I... I became a Shinigami?" Her curiosity was held for later, and Mariko then began her assault once again, however this time she charged toward Nyu instead of using her vectors.

Nyu prepared herself for Mariko's assault as she steadied herself to defend the oncoming strike. As Mariko charged in she held her sword in hand and raised it up into the air, slashing down, Nyu was able to block the attack. However Mariko wasn't afraid, a smirk appeared on her face, "Just because you have unleashed your Shikai Lucy, doesn't mean your going to win... Rain.. Murasame!"

Mariko's sword then began to shift, immediately Nyu was able to dodge out of the way as her blade extended, as the transformation completed, her blade was now shaped like a scythe, completely black with a hint of blue on the blade. Smiling, Mariko then got into her fighting stance, "Now Lucy, I can finally take revenge on you."

note: Well now, I don't really know how this idea appeared on my head, but it did and yeaa I decided it would be cool XD well hopefully i'll update soon sooo thank you for reading! Reviews appreciated too =]


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: down own bleach and elfen lied

Elfen Lied: Heart within the Sword

Chapter 2: Battle!

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The streets were empty, most of the civilians have either ran away from the scene or had hid somewhere to watch the chaos which was about to erupt between the two horned Shinigami's. The two stared into each others eyes with growing intensity, neither looking away nor charging toward each other. It was a standstill, and those kind of things annoy Yachiru. As she stood onto the side observing the two, she was very curious as to what will happen next.

_'That girl right there must be the girl Mari – chan despises so much.' _Yachiru thought, Mariko had always told her stories about her life and how it was abruptly ended by a women named Lucy, which apparently was this women right here, but the thing Yachiru did not understand was why Mariko could not have sensed her, _'Mariko said her kind, the diclonius, can sense other diclonius and that is why it is hard to hide from each other, but then how was this Lucy girl able to remain undetected, man all this thinking is giving me a headache!'. _

It was clear to Yachiru why they could sense each other, it was because of their high Reiatsu which emits from each of the Diclonius, and due to their inexperience with controlling it, they release reiatsu at a tremendous amount which can be detected by others their kind. That was why Yachiru taught Mariko how to conceal her reiatsu level for future battles so she would not be so easily detected.

Yachiru's train of thought was stopped as Mariko finally pointed her Scythe at Nyu, "Lucy..." she began, "Do you know how much pain you have caused me during my final moment with my father?"

Nyu's stare softened as she remembered the day she had killed Mariko in front of her own father, _'I... it wasn't me back then, that was my other half though...' _

"That wasn't me..." Nyu voiced her thoughts, "Mariko.. that wasn't me back then! I'm not Lucy! Im Nyu!"

"You can call yourself whatever you want, but to me you're still the one who killed me!" Mariko said, as she charged toward Nyu.

The battle then began with Mariko striking Nyu, barely being able to block it, she stumbled a little but quickly regained her balance which gave Mariko the chance to go in for another strike. Nyu was having a hard time keeping up with Mariko, apparently she is very experienced with her weapon, while Nyu on the other hand doesn't even know how to use a sword, let alone a double sided one.

"Is this all you got Lucy?" Mariko began, "Your weak! I thought you would be stronger then this... how could I have let myself be killed by you? Now die!"

Nyu was at a disadvantage, but she persisted on fighting. She then blocked a blow from Mariko's Scythe but that did not stop the little girl. She then kicked Nyu, which caused her to fall down gasping for air. She then looked at Mariko just in time to see her jump high into the air, while raising her scythe she thrust it to the left with such force that little needles protruded from her weapon. "Rain upon them.. MURASAME!" Mariko yelled as she then slashed the air, releasing all the needles connected to her scythe.

Quickly Nyu got up and blocked with her sword as the oncoming barrage of needles drew closer, using her vector for support as well the needles then came into contact. The impact hit Nyu full force, it felt as though a gigantic hammer has slammed against her, but she was able to hold it. However, it didn't stop a few needles from slipping past her defenses. As it the charge ended, most of the needles had been deflected, save a few that has impaled itself around her legs. Breathing heavily, she continued to stare at Mariko as she stood in front of her.

_'Why are you doing this...' _Nyu thought to herself, _'I just want to live a normal life, even here... why are you taking that away from me as well...' _Anger began welling up within her as she remembered back to her childhood, back when she had lost everything.

With a scream she immediately got up and ran toward Mariko, "WHY! MUST YOU TAKE AWAY MY HAPPINESS TOO!?" Mariko just stared at Nyu as she ran toward her, then her legs suddenly gave up and she dropped onto the floor.

"Fool," Mariko said, "You should have been more careful, Murasame's needles are very deadly, once impaled they immediately absorb your Reiatsu. Seeing how things are know, you won't be able to live for long Lucy, it is over."

"No..." Nyu whispered to herself as she contemplated to herself.

_'Revenge really doesn't pay for anything after all'_ Nyu said as she thought back to the time she had killed Mariko in front of her father, she had wanted Kurama to understand her pain, her misery and struggle because of him, but now thinking back was it all truly worth it? _'I guess I was an idiot, instead of looking for happiness I continued on the path of Revenge on Kurama... as well as the human race, when really my happiness was right in front of me.. just living at the Maple Inn with Kohta and the others...'_

"I... I am sorry Mariko..." Nyu suddenly said.

Mariko's eyes widened in shock as Nyu told her, "...Why should you be sorry?"

"Heh, I didn't mean to take away your life... the me back then is different from the me I have become now... but still my sins were never washed were they? Even in the afterlife, it carries on and so I guess I have to die here to repent for it..." Nyu said as tears began to stream down her cheeks.

Mariko just stared blankly at Nyu, she can feel pity for her, but that was something she could care less about, "Then goodbye.... Nyu may you rest in peace." With that, Mariko turned away from Nyu and walked back to Yachiru.

_'It is not over yet' _A voice said within Nyu's mind and suddenly, she found herself once again in the empty burnt field.

She quickly looked around to see what could have happened, but only found nothing, but she then noticed that she was actually standing and the pain has disappeared.

"What is going on now?" She asked to herself.

"You are within your own mind..." A voice said to Nyu.

Quickly she turned toward the direction of the voice to see who it could have been that had spoken to her, only to see a familiar figure. It was a girl wrapped up in bandages on her face, with horns sticking out.

"It had been a while," She said, "Even now, you fail to protect yourself, how can you survive now? You will only die if you do not let me help you."

"No..." Nyu said, "It was because of you that caused my pain! I should have never listened to you in the first place!"

A chuckle can be heard from the bandaged girl as Nyu spoke, "My my, you are almost dead, is that what you truly want? To die once again before you can meet your beloved Kohta again?"

"Kohta..." Nyu looked onto the ground as she contemplated about the situation, "Just this once..."

"Haha.. I knew it..." Suddenly Nyu felt a force push on her, her eyes widened with shock as she looked up to see what has happened, "Trust me.. you shall not be disappointed with the results." Then what Nyu witness frightened her, the little girl no longer was a little girl, but more like herself but much paler, and she wore a white kimono.

A wicked smile appeared on her face, as suddenly a mask slowly formed around it. Then Nyu's vision began to blur and slowly she faded into slumber.

* * *

Mariko suddenly stopped in her tracks as she suddenly felt a sudden burst of Reiatsu from behind her. Turning, she was greeted by a double sided sword flying directly at her. Immediately she blocked it with her scythe but stumbled by the force of the attack. Looking past she was greeted by Nyu staring intently at her with a new bloodlust.

_'This energy I feel, just what the hell happened to her?' _Mariko thought, but suddenly stopped as she felt heat build around her hand.

She then pushed the blade away from her and jumped back a few feet to figure out where the heat was coming from. Nyu slowly walked up to her blade and picked it up, staring at Mariko she slowly raised her blade once again and flames suddenly erupted from it. It twirled together in a spiral form toward the sky and then formed a figure of two dragons.

Immediately Mariko jumped out of the way as the two flaming dragons rushed down toward her, as she finally landed a few feet away, she was greeted by Nyu who was now behind her. Turning she stared directly into Nyu's eyes, and realized one thing, they were now pitch black with yellow pupils. A smile appeared on her face as she quickly raised her sword to slash down upon Mariko, who was barely able to dodge the attack.

_'dammit!' _Mariko cursed in her head as she touched the cut she got from Nyu, _'What happened? She just suddenly became ten times stronger... and her eyes... that isn't something a normal person would have.'_

Just then Nyu let out a sinister laugh which chilled Mariko down to the spine.

"Just who the hell are you now? You are not Nyu..." Mariko began which only was rewarded with a bored stare from Nyu, "You're Reiatsu isn't the same as Nyu's so tell me who are you?!"

"When will you shut up kid?" Nyu suddenly said, "You are getting to annoying, might as well kill you now."

Nyu then began to raise her sword into the air, and suddenly the atmosphere began to heat up around them. Flames then shot forth all around Nyu as it rose high into the sky. She laughed loudly at Mariko, but then everything stopped and the flames began to fade.

Mariko looked at Nyu with sudden confusion as to why she had suddenly stopped her attack but then noticed the struggle.

"DAMMIT GIRL! LEAVE ME ALONE! YOU ASKED FOR HELP AND I WILL HELP!" she screamed wildly as she began to cut the air with her own sword, "NO! STOP THIS NOW! YOU'LL DIE IF YOU DON'T LET ME HELP!"

And suddenly, Nyu simply collapsed onto the floor.

_'Her Reiatsu has returned to normal... she is Nyu now...' _ Mariko said as she slowly walked up to her, _'But... I must not let her live anymore... this is to dangerous, it is better off if she is dead.'_

Mariko had approached where the now unconscious Nyu laid. Staring at her, she slowly raised up her scythe, "Good bye Nyu." she then brought her blade down onto Nyu.

"That is enough, you cannot kill her Mariko." A voice suddenly said in front of her.

Mariko's eyes widened with shock as she was now face to face with Hitsugaya, the 10th squad captain, who was now blocking her blade from coming into contact with Nyu.

"Ca- Captain Hitsugaya... but why not? She is a threat to soul society!" Mariko exclaimed to him, but he simply stared her down.

"No she is not, she is nothing more then an inexperienced Shinigami, now can you please remove this blade of yours?" following his orders Mariko immediately lifted her blade away from Nyu and Hitsugaya.

"No hard feelings Mariko~" A voice said from behind her which turned out to be Matsumoto, lieutenant of the 10th squad, "But little Hitsugaya here felt like there was another like him here so he went to investigate. How ironic that it turns out to be another human like you!"

"Whatever Matsumoto," Mariko began, "You can take her in if you want then, but don't blame me if things are to happen..." With that, Mariko then approached Yachiru who was now cheerfully talking to Mariko about her battle.

"So.. what now?" Matsumoto questioned.

"We should take her back to Seireitei and also heal her wounds of course." Hitsugaya explained, "Then afterwards I guess we can question her as well."

Matsumoto nodded to Hitsugaya, "well sounds like the thing to do, and what about Mariko and Yachiru?"

"Nothing for now, but let's speak to Mariko about her connection to this girl later." Hitsugaya said toward Matsumoto who nodded, then changing his attention to the sleeping Nyu, "So... we finally meet, wielder of the fire dragon."

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Note: Welll the ending here seems kidna rushed cuz I am trying to finish this before I head off to the mall! Lol XD well I hope you guys enjoyed reading this chapter.. and chapter three will be coming up soon! =]


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: down own bleach and elfen lied

Elfen Lied: Heart Within the Sword

Chapter 3: Starting Over

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_Loneliness... that was all she felt as she walked down the empty streets. It has been two days since she had seen him, and now she wants to return to see him once again. She then finally stumbled upon her goal, The Maple Inn. Staring pass the doors, she can see them, all of them repairing the Inn, but there was only one person missing, he was... As she looked away, she began aimlessly wondering through the streets once again. _

_'How long has it been since this chain has appeared?' she thought as she looked down toward her chest, ever since she woke up she had notice this odd chain on her chest as well as the growing hole where the chain is placed. 'Day by day, I can feel the loneliness grow... I despise it... I despise how everyone I see are so happy... I should have just killed them all...'_

_The dark thoughts grew and grew as she continued walking, but unknown to her, the chain also began to shrink as her mind stumbled into darkness. Just then, a voice was heard from behind her, "Yo! Not so fast now miss!"_

_Turning around, she was greeted by a young man dressed in a very unusual outfit, a black kimono. That wasn't the only thing that stood out about him, his orange spiky hair as well as his gigantic sword was also an attribute that was very noticeable. "What do you want?"_

"_Wow, we got a feisty little spirit now don't we?" The young man began, "But do not worry, I am not here to hurt you, in fact I'm here to send you to a better place actually."_

"_A... better place?" she questioned, "There.... there is no such thing as a better place..."_

"_And how would you know? Just gotta trust me on this one miss, you will see when I perform the Konsho." He began with a little bit of irritation from her, "Oh almost forgot as well, my name is Ichigo, Kurosaki Ichigo, and you?"_

"_...I'm Lu – no... I'm Nyu."_

"_Well pleasure to meet you Nyu, now just relax, and it will all be over." Ichigo said as he approached Nyu. Lifting his sword into the air, Nyu observed as he then hit her head with the pommel of his sword. Suddenly she felt all the darkness in her lift away, "May you rest in Soul Society Nyu."_

_That was all she heard as suddenly a ray of light surrounded her and her vision faded into darkness._

_

* * *

_

Slowly opening her eyes, Nyu realized that she was no longer in the small house where she woke up in before with Kreme and Bollet. Instead, she found herself laying on a bed that was covered with a curtain. Slowly shifting her eyes to observe her surroundings only to noticed a figure sleeping on a chair beside the bed. Focusing on the figure, she realized it was Mariko sleeping soundly. From the looks, she must have stayed with Nyu during the period of her sleep. Smiling, she slowly reached her hand towards Mariko's to wake her up. As their hands made contact, immediately Mariko's eyes shot wide open and she quickly pulled her sword out and pointed it right at Nyu's throat.

"...." Mariko stared into Nyu's eyes with intensity as she lowered her blade, "Don't do that again, I don't like it when people wake me up from my nap."

"R-Right...." Nyu began nervously, "I'll remember that the next time I try to wake you up..."

Mariko then stood up and walked toward the other side of the bed. She then approached a small table right by Nyu's bed and picked up a small necklace.

"They left this for you when we took you here." Mariko explained as she handed Nyu the necklace.

As Nyu observed the necklace, she was amazed as to how pretty it was. Even though it was not as luxurious as most necklace she had seen in the human world, the necklace that was handed to her however had a very unique design. The chain was made out of steel as most necklace were but what it was hooked to seemed like a wooden pendant. It had a very unique design with holes in different areas. Nyu then noticed a hole at the edge that protruded out of the pendant. Out of curiosity, she positioned her mouth between the protruding hole and gave a deep breath and blew into the pendant. It made a high pitch noise as she continued blowing it, but was abruptly stopped as Mariko suddenly slapped it away from her mouth.

"Would you not blow that inside here!" Mariko yelled, "This is the fourth division's base, where all injured Shinigamis go to recover, there are plenty of sick and wounded Shinigamis and the last thing they would want is to be disturbed by such a high pitch sound!"

"I'm so sorry! I didn't know!" Nyu frantically said, "But I was just so curious as to what it was.. I guess I kinda got carried away."

Mariko let out a big sigh as Nyu tried to explain herself, "Don't worry about it, this is an Ocarina. Your friends asked me to give this to you a few days ago after we took you in."

"A few days ago?" Nyu questioned, has it really been that long since she was unconscious? "How long have I exactly been asleep? And how is Kreme and Bollet? Are they ok? Can I see them?"

"Hey Hey! Hold it here I can't answer everything you ask you know!" Mariko began, "However, you've been asleep for just about a week now. After our battle.. you fell into a coma like state and have been nursed here by the fourth division. Everyone here is amazed at your ability Nyu, you were able to activate your Shikai right from the start and not only that, your Zanpakuto... the tenth division captain has taken a liking to you. He plans on taking you into his division actually."

Nyu didn't know what to think as Mariko told her about what has happened while she was absent, _'Me? A Shinigami... and already there is a division waiting for me once I recover? But... what about my friends? I can't just leave them there when we barely met!'_

"Do not worry about your friends, Kreme and Bollet." Mariko began as she noticed Nyu's change in facial expression, "They will be fine... besides they are only spirits, not Shinigamis, so they are forbidden to enter Seireitei. I'm sorry if it is inconvenient but it is the rule, however you can come visit them though."

"Really? If so, let us go visit them after!" Nyu exclaimed with joy.

"Sorry to tell you this, but if you want to go back and visit your friends, your going to have to first go to Shinigami Academy honey." Said a female voice as two figures entered through the curtain, it was soon revealed to be Matsumoto and Hitsugaiya.

"Shinigami… Academy?" Nyu questioned.

"It is where you'll be going to get proper training before joining my division." Hitsugaiya began, "I can't just let an inexperienced Shinigami enter my Division that easily. Even though you have already acquired Shikai, a Shinigami still must go through the basic procedure of going to school."

"Oh Hitsugaiya, go easy on her, this is her first time here." Matsumoto began, "How about this, Mariko, since you know her the most would you mind taking her to the Academy please? They have already assigned a class for her and if you have time show her around as well."

A look of frustration appeared on Mariko's face for a second before turning into a defeated sigh, "Fine... I guess it is better if I do show her around. When you are better, Nyu, be sure to meet me at the 11th division's base, it won't be far from here. I'll also inform the 4th division to send a Shinigami to escort you there."

"Alright Mariko... thank you for all your help!" Nyu replied cheerfully, but Mariko's annoyance was still present and that bothered her.

Silence ensued between the two until Hitsugaiya spoke, "If you two have nothing else to say to each other, we should leave you to rest now Nyu. There are things that we must discuss about as well, so rest well and meet up with Mariko later."

Nodding in response, Nyu watched as the three began their way out of the room. _'Things they must discuss?' _Nyu thought to herself as she laid down, _'what could it be I wonder... what if its about me?' _As she thought about it, her eyes were heavy and drowsiness slowly crept up to her. Soon she was no long awake but slept humbly in her bed.

* * *

"What I find most interesting about Nyu... is her other ability." Hitsugaiya began as he walked down the streets of Seireitei with Mariko and Matsumoto. After leaving the Fourth Division's base, Mariko had told the tenth squad captain about her encounter with Nyu and how she had an unknown ability that almost defeated her. "The ability you spoke about Mariko, I believe it is similar to Ichigo's"

"..." Mariko did not know much about Ichigo Kurosaki, she had only met him once during his fight with Kenpachi but she had also heard about his battle against Byakuya and how his victory was due to a mask which resembled a hollows appeared on him. It gave him tremendous strength which almost defeated Byakuya, just like Mariko and Nyu. "Are you saying that there may be a link between Nyu's ability and Ichigo's?"

"For all we know, it is the same ability that Ichigo possesses. The only question I have is how did she attain it?" Hitsugaiya pondered on that question as they continued walking. The rest of the walk was silent as the trio thought about the mystery around Nyu.

"You know what I need right now?" Matsumoto suddenly began, "I need a drink! All this thinking is hurting my head!"

The other two let out a big sigh of disbelief at what Matsumoto had just said, but agreed about it either way. There was no way they can solve this mystery now, not with such little information about the horned girl.

"Well, you two can have fun drinking but as for me, I need to return to my base." Mariko said.

"OK!" Matsumoto began, then she quickly grabbed Hitsugaiya's arm and dragged him along with her, "Now come with me Mr. Captain! We are going to have lots of fun drinking this thing away!"

"NO! I DON'T WANT TO! RELEASE ME NOW MATSUMOTO!" Hitsugaiya began as Mariko stared in amusement at the scene she was witnessing. As they were out of sight, Mariko finally continued on to the 12th division's base to await Nyu's arrival.

* * *

-The Next Day-

Nyu slowly entered the 12th division's headquarters, looking around for signs of Mariko or her friend, Yachiru. At a glance, there was no one in sight, " Hello? Anyone here?"

"What do you want?" a voice boomed behind her.

Quickly turning to see who it was, she was then greeted by a gigantic figure staring down at her. Immediately she froze at the sight of the man as he stared down at her, she noticed that one eye was patched and his hair was spiked up at the end and contained bells at each tip.

"I said, what do you want?" He repeated with a growing annoyance.

Nyu was still to scared to even respond to his question, then another voice behind him spoke up, "Don't worry Captain Zaraki, Kenpachi. That is Nyu, the one I'm suppose to give a little tour with." The voice turned out to be Mariko, who was then accompanied by Yachiru.

"Oh, is that so?" Kenpachi said with a big grin. He then began walking around Nyu as he observed her, "Tch, you reek of blood, but yet your far to weak for my taste."

Nyu's expression suddenly changed to that of sadness and shame as Kenpachi spoke, noticing the change in expression Mariko instantly butt in, "Well! Sorry but I think I should take Nyu around and show her the place! I'll see you Captain Zaraki and Yachi – san!"

Grabbing Nyu's hand Mariko quickly sped out of the 12th division's base leaving a confused Kenpachi on what had just happened, "I never finished examining her..."

"hehehehhe! It was your fault for being too rough on her Ken-Chan!" Yachiru began, "She must have been really scared!"

"I was scary?" Kenpachi questioned, "... I was just trying to get to know her..."

* * *

Mariko had just finished giving Nyu a tour of Seireitei. She showed Nyu where all the division's bases are and also her own as well as the meeting center for emergencies, it wasn't such a great tour though, especially since Nyu was in deep thought about Kenpachi's words. _'You reek of blood... I know my sins are great... but can't they be forgiven?' _

Noticing the mood, Mariko then spoke up, "Don't worry about what Kenpachi said Nyu, that was the life you had before, this is the life you have now... you can change things and make it better, trust me."

Nyu looked at Mariko for a second and flashed her a little smile, "Your right, I guess I shouldn't worry to much about my past..."

"You shouldn't even be thinking about it... well... here we are, the Shinigami Academy." Both Mariko and Nyu stopped in front of a golden gate. Behind it stood the Academy for Shinigamis and the place where Nyu shall be learning to become a full fledge Shinigami. "Well.. after you enter this gate, your going to be on your own, no need for me to hold your hand now."

The academy was no different from any other schools back in the living world, which reminded Nyu once again of her times with Khouta and Yuka. She stood there in thought, remembering all the good times they had, _'…. I want to see them again, even though we won't be able to live together anymore, I still want to at least see them...' _Looking straight toward the golden gate, Nyu's eyes suddenly glowed with a renewed determination, _'I must become a Shinigami! If I am ever able to reunited with them, I must start this life a new!'_

"Mariko," Nyu began catching her attention, "you are right about one thing, the past is the past. Now that I am here, I must start a new... to atone for everything I have done."

"Hmph, good luck with that." Mariko said, "Atoning for all your mistakes won't be easy, for all we know it can take an eternity for that to happen."

"Then watch me Mariko!" Nyu suddenly yelled as she turned to face Mariko, "I will become a Shinigami in no time! And with that I shall make up for my past life, my past mistakes!"

A smile crept upon Mariko's face as she listened to Nyu, "Then you should hurry up to your class and begin, your already late if I'm correct"

A look of surprise appeared on Nyu, and quickly she turned around and ran through the gate, as she did she screamed back toward Mariko, "JUST WATCH ME MARIKO, I'LL BE BACK IN NO TIME AND I'LL PROVE YOU WRONG!"

As Mariko watch her run toward her new class, as well as new life, she couldn't help but smile once again, _'You remind me of myself, when I first stepped onto this Academy... perhaps you will prove me wrong... ha ha I shall wait for that day.'_

Turning away from the academy, Mariko began her way back to the 12th division's base to continue on her normal life, as Nyu has now taken her first step into a new life.

* * *

note: Blah so many things been going on that I have not been able to even finish any more chapters lately =[ Sadly this chapter seems like just a little filler for me... well I guess its fine for now, I was planning on making it longer but I new I was losing motivation for this chapter. But anyways at least its done! Hopefully i'll get the other one up soon alright thanks for the read! ^^


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